RishabhPant

A swashbuckling batter who plays in a seemingly care-free style, Rishabh Pant made his Test debut in England as a 21-year-old, but he’d already been making waves well before that.

He rose to prominence at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, scoring a century against Namibia and an 18-ball fifty against Nepal. By 19, he had a first-class triple century and an IPL contract.

So an international career seemed imminent, and by his third Test at the Oval (114 from 146 balls) he’d already notched his first hundred.

Fast-forward a few months and Pant played a major hand in India’s maiden Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in Australia, including a blistering 159 not out in Sydney.

However, perhaps Pant’s most iconic knock came two seasons later, when he returned to Australia and flourished once again.

Left out for the 2020-21 series opener in Adelaide, Pant returned to the XI and after a 97 in Sydney guided India to a stunning final-day victory in Brisbane with his instantly classic 89 not out.

In December 2022, Pant’s world was rocked when he was involved in a serious car crash and was lucky to survive.

His comeback to cricket came in the 2024 IPL and he was back in the Test team by September, making a century against Bangladesh on return.